Stapilus: Why Hart's Tax Problems Matter

The story this last week about state Representative Phil Hart, R-Athol, being slapped with $300,000 in tax liens (from 1997-2003 and two more recent years) almost slipped by – people get into financial arrears, on a basic level there’s nothing shocking there – except for a few points that should be noted before this slips away. One is that Hart is quite influential among very conservative Republicans; in the Panhandle, he’s among the must-get endorsements if you’re running with Tea Party and other very ideological conservatives. He has become influential enough that he was a key lever behind the ouster of incumbent Republican Senator Mike Jorgenson, from his district, by Steve Vick; the extent of Hart’s involvement has been a matter of some dispute, but he apparently recruited Vick to run/Randy Stapilus, Ridenbaugh Press. More here.